Shoe sling



R. AZZARITO SHOE SLING April 18, 19 7 Filed Oct. 20, 1965 INVENTOR. IOCCO AZZAE/TO 3,314,090 SHOE SLING Rocco Azzarito, 6419 Chaffee St., Tujunga, Calif. 91042 Filed Oct. 20, 1965, Ser. No. 498,737 5 Claims. (Cl. 12-1) This invention relates to shoes and more particularly to an inconspicuous device suitable for use in displaying ladies footwear of the type having abbreviated uppers and more particularly to a device for supporting the sling of the ladies shoe while on display in a natural wearing position and featuring means for quickly and readily adjusting the same for use with shoes of different sizes and designs.

Ladies footwear of the open design are very popular and are made in a great variety of designs. Most of these utilize a heel sling embracing the upper rear part of the wearers heel While being worn. Such slings are often so light and flexible as not to be self-supporting when not being worn or While on display. Various expedients have been resorted to heretofore as an aid in supporting the sling in its normal position w hether being stored or While on display in a sales room. However, these leave much to be desired and many require various expedients for securing them to the shoe, as by some type of clamping device or by means of one or more sharp prongs insertable into the footwear. This is undesirable for obvious reasons and is not convenient for use. Furthermore such anchorage means are easily displaced and are unreliable.

Accordingly, it is a primary object of the present invention to provide an inexpensive, inconspicuous readilyadjustable device requiring no tools for its use nor any means for clamping it to the footwear. Essentially the device comprises two lightweight thin flexible members readily adjustable to any of a wide range of positions to accommodate different styles and sizes of shoes and adapted to be held in adjusted position as well as in place on the shoe by friction and the resiliency of the parts. According to a preferred form, the accessory device utlizes two strips of thin resilient strip material, one of which is formed to clip over the rear portion of the heel part of the sole and includes means for frictionally retaining an upwardly extending second strip which is engageable with the inner rear portion of the shoe sling and cooperates therewith to support the sling in a natural wearing position. No part of the shoe is deformed, defaced or punctured and the device may be used repeatedly both in the home and in a sales room.

Accordingly it is a primary object of the present invention to provide a simple, rugged, readily-adjusted inconspicuous accessory device for supporting a ladies shoe sling.

Another object of the invention is the provision of an accessory for use in the display of ladies footwear and comprising a pair of relatively adjustable resilient members frictionally retained in place on the shoe and usuable to support the sling in any desired position.

These and other more specific objects will appear upon reading the following specification and claims and upon United States Patent 0 considering in connection therewith the attached drawing to which they relate.

Referring now to the drawing in which a preferred embodirnent of the invention is illustrated.

FIGURE l is a fragmentary perspective view of the rear portions of a ladies openawork shoe showing a preferred embodiment of the present invention in use to support the heel sling thereof; and

FIGURE 2 is a side elevational view corresponding to FIGURE 1 and showing further details of the invention accessory.

Referring to the drawing, there is shown the invention shoe accessory designated generally 10. This accessory comprises a pair of thin resilient strips including a relatively wide base strip 11 and an upwardly and rearwardly curved support strip 12. Base strip 11 is formed with a downturned hook 1-3 at its rear end adapted to embrace the rear edge portion 14 of the shoe sole. Simple and highly effective means for holding strips 11 and 12 detachably and adjustably assembled comprises a pair of loops 15, 15 and preferably struck upwardly and from strip 11 and appropriately sized to slideably receive the lower end 16 of the strip 12.

It will be understood that strips 1'1 and 12 may be formed of any suitable material, as spring metal, resilient plastic or the like. It will be understood that the lower end 16 of strip 12 is inserted beneath loops 15 and that there is sufiicient frictional engagement between members '11 and 12 and loops 15 as to retain the two strips in any desired adjusted position and this is particularly true when the upper end of strip 12 is in light pressure contact with the inner rear end of shoe sling 18. To avoid disengagement of strip 12 from the sling, it is desirable that the upper end of the strip be provided with a rearwardly extending pointed projection 19 which presses lightly into the soft material of the sling. If the sling is not supported sufliciently high or at the proper elevation owing to improper adjustment of device 10, the user simply grasps the two main strips 11 and 12 and slides the latter longitudinally of the base strip and in the proper direction an amount to achieve the desired result. The friction between the parts is highly effective in holding them in any selected adjusted position.

From the foregoing it will be appreciated that the present invention provides a simple, flexible, highly-adaptable accessory for supporting shoe slings either in the home or in the sales room. If the accessory is made of transparent plastic material, as it properly may be, the accessory is hardly visible to the observers eye and it readily harmonizes with any color or type of footwear.

While the particular shoe sling herein shown and disclosed in detail is fully capable of attaining the objects and providing the advantages hereinbefore stated, it is to be understood that it is merely illustrative of the presently preferred emobdiments of the invention and that no limitations are intended to the details of construction or design herein shown other than as defined in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. An accessory for supporting a shoe sling while the shoe is not being worn or is on display, said accessory comprising a thin base member adapted to be supported longitudinally on the center portion of a ladies shoe, a thin resilient strip having the lower end thereof adjacent to and adjustably assembled on said base member with its upper end projecting upwardly from said base member for supporting engagement with the rearmost portion of the shoe sling and for resiliently supporting the same in the normal wearing position thereof, and means on said base member adapted to engage the heel area of the shoe and to hold said accessory releasably assembled to the shoe.

2. An accessory as defined in claim 1 characterized in that said accessory consists of two strip members formed to interengage with one another, and means holding said strip members in a desired assembled position when the upper end of said sling engaging strip is stressed against a shoe sling.

3. A display accessory for supporting a ladies shoe sling in a natural Wearing position while on display or while not being worn, said accessory comprising an elongated thin base member having its rear end formed with a hook adapted to embrace the rear edge of a shoe sole,

"said base member having keeper means thereon to embrace one end of a shoe sling member and to retain the latter assembled to said base member in dilferent adjusted positions, an elongated thin resilient strip having the lower end thereofem'braced and held assembled to said base member by said keeper means, the upper end of said resilient strip extending upwardly and rearwardly from said base member and adapted to be flexed and stressed for- Wardly by engagement with a shoe sling to support the latter in a slightly tensioned normal Wearing position while the shoe is on display in a sales place or not being Worn by the purchaser.

4. A display accessory as defined in claim 3 characterized in that said base member and said shoe sling support are formed of spring metal stripping.

5. A display accessory for supporting a ladies shoe sling in a natural Wearing position, said accessory consisting of two thin elongated strips of resilient material includng a relatively short base strip having a downturned hook at the rear end thereof and a relatively long arcuate strip, the book of said base strip being adapted to embrace the rear end edge of a ladies shoe sole to support said accessory against the interior surface of the heel port-ion of the shoe sole, keeper means formed on said base strip adapted to slidingly receive and embrace the lower end of said arouate strip, the upper end of said arcuate strip extending upwardly and rearwardly to engage against the interior surface of a shoe sling and to hold the latter outstretched and supported in a normal wearing position and under only slight tension.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS Re. 25,922 11/1965 Walters 121 2,936,533 5/1960 Paynor 36-115 X 3,197,793 8/1965 Walters 121 3,241,163 3/1966 Walters 12-1 PATRICK D. LAWSON, Primary Examiner.

R. SCANLA'N, ]R., Examiner. 

1. AN ACCESSORY FOR SUPPORTING A SHOE SLING WHILE THE SHOE IS NOT BEING WORN OR IS ON DISPLAY, SAID ACCESSORY COMPRISING A THIN BASE MEMBER ADAPTED TO BE SUPPORTED LONGITUDINALLY ON THE CENTER PORTION OF A LADIES'' SHOE, A THIN RESILIENT STRIP HAVING THE LOWER END THEREOF ADJACENT TO AND ADJUSTABLY ASSEMBLED ON SAID BASE MEMBER WITH ITS UPPER END PROJECTING UPWARDLY FROM SAID BASE MEMBER FOR SUPPORTING ENGAGEMENT WITH THE REARMOST PORTION OF THE SHOE SLING AND FOR RESILIENTLY SUPPORTING THE SAME IN THE NORMAL WEARING POSITION THEREOF, AND MEANS ON SAID BASE MEMBER ADAPTED TO ENGAGE THE HEEL AREA OF THE SHOE AND TO HOLD SAID ACCESSORY RELEASABLY ASSEMBLED TO THE SHOE. 